Does US President Joe Biden read CNWC Electrification Policy Positions? From what he said to Canada’s Parliament during his state visit on Friday, we could swear he does. Biden is long on electrification, and often emphasizes it.
At around 12:20 of his speech, he said this: “I met with the IBEW [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers] and pointed out we’re going to build 5,500 [he meant 500,000] electric charging stations. Guess who builds them? Union workers.”
A bit later he said this: “Every single solitary initiative required to deal with the environment creates union jobs.”
Here’s a video clip of his speech:
This is the same exact point we make in our Policy Position on Urban Electrification and all other position papers in the Electrification series. Local electricity grids will see a dramatic transformation as EVs see greater uptake and more gasoline retailers transition to selling electrical energy. Residential adoption of 200+ Amp service will accelerate this.
Electrification will involve an expansion of the grid, but not in a far-flung way like renewable energy advocates imagine, in which thousands of kilometres of line are strung into areas where renewable resources are perceived to be good—or at least a bit better than the dismal 30 percent capacity factor they get in Ontario and Alberta. Most physical additions to the grid will be near and/or adjacent to existing nodes. Many transmission rights of way are colocated with rail lines. Expansion is likely to occur in those areas.
IBEW is a CNWC member union. So are PWU and The Society of Energy Professionals. This unionized workforce will lead the way in rewiring Canada, and transforming Canadian electric grids so they become the clean energy platform of the future.
Those aren’t the only CNWC member unions who will benefit when electrification gathers pace. All our members will see dramatic increases in gainful employment for their members when new nuclear plants are built. Only nuclear can provide the clean generation that truly makes electrification clean.
You can read the official transcript of Biden’s entire speech here.
